The single ‘no’ vote on the publication of Epstein files

A giant bipartisan majority in the US House of Representatives gave a bill that required the general public to release files associated with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

However, there was one voice that was different and that was Republican Congressman Clay Higgins of Louisiana who was the only one to vote against the measure.

Later on X Higgins clarified that his objection was not political but rather on a principle basis.

He contended that the bill still has significant legal problems he had raised months ago, and wrote:

“Nothing has changed. This law ignores hundreds of years of American criminal justice norms.

The bill sailed through the House by a vote of 427 to 1 an extremely rare occurrence of both sides pulling together. It was soon passed by the Senate too with only the signature by President Donald Trump to make it law, which the president has indicated he will sign.

Higgins’ Argument: Protect Personal Privacy

As Higgins explains, his resistance was based on a single issue, which is the privacy and safety of people who were involved in the Epstein case.

He cautioned that the bill as it was proposed would reveal personal information not only of the victims but also of the witnesses, of those who provided alibis and other people whose lives came into contact with the case.

He said that handing over uncooked investigative documents to a willing and sensational media would do actual harm to the innocent.

Higgins added that he would change his mind should the Senate amend the bill. But Republican Senate leader John Thune proposed that it was almost impossible to make any amendments at this point.

With just one vote against a bill in the House and the president on its side, he said it is very difficult to rewrite it and get it passed by the Senate unanimously as it did.

How the GOP Shifted Its Position

Prior to the House vote, the House Republicans had only four that joined Democrats to have the bill brought forward and include Thomas Massie, Lauren Boebert, Nancy Mace, and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Things got completely different when President Trump lifted his objection to vote and the Republicans became widely supported.

Higgins’ Pattern of Breaking From the Pack

Higgins, the 3rd District representative of Louisiana since 2017 whose conservative position is characterized as hardline, has a record of controversial incidents and surprising stances.

In 2024, his own party censured him after he posted inflammatory remarks about Haiti on social media, saying the country was the nastiest in the western hemisphere and that Haitians ate pets and were slapstick gangsters.

He also issued a warning; these thugs must straighten their mind before January 20th they must move out of our country.

His social media commentaries have elicited furor in the past. In 2020, Facebook took down two of his posts in response to him threatening to drop any 10 of you where you stand, a post directed at armed protesters who were scheduled to take part in a protest against police brutality. The company claimed that the posts promoted violence.

Higgins worked with the St. Landry Parish Sheriff office before joining the congress. In 2016, he resigned following criticism over his appearance in a highly aggressive anti-crime video where he was holding a rifle and threatening gang members with strong words.